MOSCOW (Sputnik) — “The air strikes resulted in killing 21 terrorists from ISIS and the destruction of a booby-trapped vehicle near Baiji’s oil refinery, in addition to killing two other militants in Ramadi,” a press statement, issued by the Iraqi state-owned War Media Cell on Friday and obtained by the local IraqiNews portal, said.
The media, coordinating news reporting on the Iraqi government’s fight with ISIL, added that the airstrikes took place Thursday night and Friday.
Baiji is located about 130 miles north of Baghdad and is best known for a nearby oil refinery, the largest in the country. The city was seized by ISIL in June 2014. Iraqi forces began their operation to free Baiji in October 2014. In June, media reported that the Iraqi army had regained full control of the entire city.
The city of Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province, located some 70 miles from the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, was seized by the militants on May 17. Hundreds of Iraqi security forces were killed in the battle and many more fled the city, leaving many of their weapons behind.
The US-led international coalition has been conducting airstrikes against ISIL militants in Iraq since August 2014 and in Syria since September 2014. Despite the military campaign, ISIL continues making significant advances in both countries.
